And sechter



(No Model.)

'J. KNAPP.

FIFTH WHEEL.

No. 858,899. Patented Feb. 22,1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT rrrca JACOB KNAPP, or CINCINNATI, oIIIo, AssIeNoR rro w. w. GRn-3R, or HUL` rroN, PENNSYLVANIA, AND snCrrrI-IR a Co.,` or CINCINNATI, oHIo.

FIFTH-WH EEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 358,399. dated February 22, 1887.

(No model.)

To @ZZ whoml it may concern.-

Beit known that l, JACOB KNAPP, of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful lmprovenientin Fifth-.Wheels for Vehicles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in Y whichlo Figure 1`is a perspective View illustrating my invention, and Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through the plane of thekingbolt.

In the drawings, 2 represents the axle-bed, I5 3 the front axle, and-L the head-block, on the under side of which is the saddle or crosspiece 12 of the upper circle-plate, 5, of the iifth-wheel, which is secured to the head-block by clips 6. The lower circle-plate, 7, is secured to the axle by a saddle, 8, and clips 9, and the outer edge of the upper circle-'plate has a depending ange which fits over and covers the front of the lower circle-plate, the purpose of the flange being to exclude dirt from 25 the bearings of the fth-wheel. l

10 are the reach-bars, which are secured to the head-block by stay-bars 11, preferably screwed to the top of the reachbars, and curved upward from the front ends of the reach-bars to the head-block, to which they are bolted.

The king-bolt 14 is arranged back of the axle and head-block in the following-manner: A collar or huh, 15, projects back from the saddle 1.2 of the bolster, and immediately beneath it is a similar collar or hub, 16, which projects from the saddle 8. These collars are male and female, the collar 15 having a square hole to receive the king-bolt, and having a square neck to prevent its turning. They are preferably made integral with their respective saddle-bars. Below the collar 16 is a third collar or hub, 17, which is bolted to and projects from the rear side of the axle-bed, and 4 5 below this is a fourth collar or hub, 18, which is attached to the reach-bars by stays or braces 19. The bores of these several collars are all in alignment, and together form the bearings of the king-bolt, which passes through them. 5o A brace or stay, 20, extends from the lower 'curely to the circle-plates, and thus prevents end of the king-bolt below the collar 18, under t-he axle to the middle portion of the fifthwhcel, where it is bolted to a backwardlyprojecting lug of the upper circle-plate, a portion ofthe brace constituting alip, preferably extending forward under and in contact with the under side of the lower circle-plate, which it serves to guide and to steady. The brace is secured to the king-bolt by a nut,2l,screwed in place below the eye of the brace, which encircles theking-bolt. A nut, 24, fitting within a square recess in the brace 20 around the kingbolt,bears on and supports the collar 18. The brace 2() serves to strengthen the parte of the fifth-wheel. It unites the kingbolt serattling, and enables the king-bolt to be set back I,ot' the axle with more security and strength than is possible with other forms of fl'lh'Wheel. 70

While the manner ofjoining the reach-bars and the axle and head-block to the king-bolt by means of the four collars, which I have shown and described, is convenient and neat, I do not desire to limit the scope of my inven- 7 tion strictly to the specified arrangement and number, since obviously they may be altered somewhat without departing from the spirit of my invention. In place of and as equivalent for the reach-bars a single reach-bar or 8( perch may be substituted.

I claiml. The combination, with the circle-plates of a fifth-wheel, of a king-bolt back of the axle, the collar 17, connecting the king-bolt and axle-bed, the collar 15, encircling the king-bolt above the collar 17 and connecting the axle-bed and king-bolt, the reach, and a collar, 18, encircling the king-bolt below the collar 17 and connecting the reach and kingbolt, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. The combination of a iifth-wheel, a headblock and axle, a king-bolt back of the axle, a collar or hub connecting the head-block with 95 the king-bolt, and the collar or hub connecting the axle with the king-bolt, substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. The combination of the circle-plates of a fifth-wheel, a king-bo1t situate back of the roo 5. The combination of the circle-plates of a 6. The combination of a fifth-wheel having aking-bolt back of the axle and a brace or stay extending from the king-bolt to the forward part of the fifth-wheel, said brace having` a recess around the king-bolt and a contained nut on the king-bolt, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto Set my hand this 9th day of Julyy A. D. 1886.

JACOB KNAPP.

Witnesses:

SMIL. S. CARPENTER, J. KNIEMUELLER. 

